Shadow Gone

On February 27, our last Bremerton cat, Shadow, passed away. He was old, and had long-standing

Shadow in the sun

kidney failure.

He passed without pain or struggle. 

Here are some photos of our boy.

Shadow once tried to save us from the Nesqually earthquake, jumping up and down and yelling, trying to get us out of bed. We didn't listen, but he tried anyway. No harm done. Brave kitten. And the only cat at the time who came back in to save us!

Shadow on the storage chest, when he could
still use the steps I'd made.

Asleep on the storage chest

Another angle on the storage chest

Shadow And Kiki - Happy Anyway

Shadow in the sun

We're getting lower on cats, and now Kiki has joined Shadow in that walk to the last days.

Kiki - the calico - has a heart condition. Every other day she tolerates a little pill from the vet.

Kiki, with toys

Shadow is taking water for renal failure. He doesn't like it, but he and Kiki both like the special treats they get when they've had their meds.

This is all normal for a household with old cats, and we've done this many times before. 

Both cats are happy, eating, enjoying themselves. 

They've even takien to sharing the heat lamp on the afghan together! 

Tolerance!

We've learned not to hang on forever when a loved one is dying, and let them take their own course.

When my time comes, I plan to subsist on chocolate and coffee.

Recent photos show the two older cats - Shadow from Bremerton, Kiki from Clallam Bay - are even tolerating Jim, our other Clallam Bay rescue.

Shadow, Jim and Kiki -
in English reading order.

I think Shadow's brother might have been a cat in Bremerton named "Egypt." He looked exactly like Shadow, even to the kink in the last inch of the tail.

Shadow is Fearless's brother. We lost Fearless last year to a number of health problems, including thyroid and heart. 

We're too old to be adopting kittens, now, but it looks like we'll still have neighborhood dogs and cats, and can keep contributing to the ASPCA, as we have for years.

There are always animals that need petted or assisted, and owners who need help and contacts. 

It takes a village.

Shadow and Jim

Old Shadow Fading But Happy

Old Shadow with Betsy the Stove

Our old Shadow cat is finally fading. He has renal failure - but of all the cat deaths we've dealt with, when this one is controlled and monitored, it is far less painful than many of the others.

Shadow keeping warm

Shadow's sister, Fearless, passed away last year, of heart failure, after a long life of thyroid problems. She was a tough little thing. 

Both of them were called the Potatoes, because when they were very little, and held in one hand, upside down, their little bellies looked like potatoes.

So we have one last Potato left. He's also the last of the Bremerton cats. 

He's happy, he's doing okay. And if we get a cat all the way to renal failure, we win. Because we all die of something, and renal failure has always come late. He was born in something like the autumn of 2001, so that's not bad, making it so far in 2017. 

I know we'll get good wishes - and huge thanks to all of you, who extend them. They are much appreciated.